Hey, Morrissey,


in general, my suit and tie routine has worked. I only have one "failure". And the irony is that this happened in one of my favorite countries, where I had never and have never since had any problems: Canada!

It was on Sep 14, 2001. I had booked a Star Alliance RTW and was determined to go. To make a long story short, I flew SFO to YVR to start my RTW ex Canada since the fare was much cheaper. After clearing customs, at the exit I was segregated to go to secondary screening. As I meandered the corridor and arrived at the checkpoint, no one was there. Finally I saw someone who apparently was not an inspector. After 5 mins I said I would return to the initial exit but was reprimanded by the non-inspector. After another 5, a woman came and called me to the station.

I endured about 30 minutes of interrogation, going thru every single one of my papers in my carry-ons (had no checked bags), asking ridiculous questions about my ticket: "that's a very expensive ticket!" (I answered: "No, it's much cheaper than buying it ex-USA.")

I finally said that I did not appreciate the harrassment and that they had just bombed my country, not Canada.

She eventually let me go. I had to return to special immigration, where the agent asked me if this was the first time I'd been to Canada. I stated I'd been there multiple times, he checked my passport and asked with either wonder or surprise that I'd been to Calcary, he just stamped my passport, and I was on my way.

The whole rest of the RTW was without any hassle. Right post 9/11.